Your #Career : Even If Your #NewJob Is a Bad Fit, Don’t Quit…How to Evaluate Whether the Challenges Can be Overcome or it’s Really a #ToxicWorkplace.

Starting a new job can be overwhelming. People under stress in situations that are uncertain or ambiguous tend to make decisions that are risky or unwise, according to a 2016 study by German researchers.

Quitting abruptly risks earning bad references from former bosses and their contacts. It also may mean living without a paycheck for a while.

Rob Hill was dismayed two years ago to learn that he was expected as a manager of a new manufacturing plant to work the 5 a.m.-to-5 p.m. shift, plus several more hours—a fact he says hadn’t been clear to him during interviews. He quit after two days. After working long hours on similar jobs in the past, “I just didn’t want to hurt like that anymore,” Mr. Hill says. He had to live on his savings for a month, but he landed a more fulfilling position, as director of operations for a Denver community foundation.

Before resigning abruptly, new hires should ask themselves if they’re giving the job a fair chance. New employees’ behavior helps determine the amount of support they receive, according to a 2017 study of 273 new hires and 203 managers. Those who seem committed to the job and ask questions get more help from managers, says Allison Marie Ellis, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of management and human resources at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Having a new hire quit is costly for employers. It forces them to restart the hiring process and damages morale. Several people Julie Jansen hired and trained as recruiters on a previous job years ago quit after only one day. “It was devastating. You think you know if someone is a fit, and then they just disappear,” says Ms. Jansen, author of “I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not This,” a best-selling career book.

It isn’t wise to exit just because you don’t like the person next to you or have to do grunt work all day. If the boss is abrasive, push back a bit. One intern at a Wall Street financial-services firm whose boss seemed unduly brusque asked him, “Are you just having a bad day, or are you always like this?” says Rebecca Zucker, a career and executive coach at Next Step Partners in San Francisco. The intern not only survived the exchange but earned better treatment from the boss, Ms. Zucker says.

Quitting early may be warranted if an employer tries a bait-and-switch—promising one job and assigning you to a different one, or violating other agreed-upon terms, says Chicago career coach Jody Michael. “If you’re told you’ll be reporting to the CEO, but in actuality there’s someone positioned between you and the CEO, that’s a problem,” Ms. Michael says.

One manager learned on his first day at an automotive company that his base pay would be cut in half under a new company compensation plan, says Carlos Kingwergs, Latin America regional director for AutoKineto, an international executive-search firm based in Columbia, S.C. The employer increased his bonus to make up for it, Mr. Kingwergs says, but the new hire quit, saying, “That’s not what I signed on for.”

Other job seekers take a position because it’s their only offer, then exit after receiving an offer for their dream job that requires them to start right away, Ms. Michael says. That’s not an ideal path, but some opportunities are simply too good to refuse.

Whatever the reason, it’s important to leave on as positive a note as possible, says Jill Tipograph, co-founder of Early Stage Careers, a New York City coaching service for recent college grads. Most employers won’t want to keep a new hire around if he or she gives two weeks’ notice right away. But ask if you can help with the transition in other ways, such as leaving notes on any work you’ve done. “First and last impressions are what people remember,” she says.

Write to Sue Shellenbarger at sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com  Appeared in the January 3, 2018, print edition as ‘A Checklist Before You Quit.’

WSJ.com